New engine, engine swap, or rebuild?

[JA no Y]

OK...I have a 95 Blazer, 4.3L with the OBDI system (built in fall of 94 before they switched to the OBDII system in 95). It has 226k miles on it and untill recently, was still running strong.

I pulled it out from under my carport that sits beside my garage, to wash the dust off it. I hadn't driven it for a few weeks and decided to let it idle while I rinsed it off. Once I was done, I hopped in and saw the "check gauges" light was on, and noticed my temp gauge needle was passed the 260 mark. I immediately popped the hood and ran some water into the overflow and then felt the radiator cap. It was cold. There was no water in the radiator. I slowly added some water into it and noticed immediately the water was running onto the ground from the drivers side of the engine. I quickly turned the engine off and walked over to where my Blazer was previously parked and noticed the freeze plug laying on the ground. Must have popped out from some very cold temperatures we've had recently. After a few days, I replaced the freeze plug and slowly (and I mean slowly), added water to the radiator (didn't add antifreeze in case the freeze plug leaked). I started to notice after several minutes, that some water was leaking onto the ground from the general area of the freeze plug. But the freeze plug and everything around it was dry. Could not find where the water was coming from. So I decided to change my oil while I was waiting for it to fill with water, and then look harder for the water leak. Once I started to loosen the oil plug, water came trickling out. Then came gushing out once I removed the plug completely.

Basically, the engine is toast. Whether it's a cracked block from frozen coolant, or warped heads from running it without any coolant. (though it still runs!!)

I'm weighing my options so my question is this...since most 95's (if not all of them) had specific year engines in them, is it possible to just use the block and heads from a diff year if I can't find an exact match to mine, should I just rebuild this one ("IF" the block is not cracked), or just break down and spend a small fortune on a brand new engine?

[old_master]

First... the switch from OBDI to OBD1.5 came mid model year 95. Very few late model year 95's have OBDII. 96 and newer all have OBDII. 95 was a hodge podge year.

Second... Check the lower intake manifold gasket. VERY common for them to leak coolant into the oil. If you're careful when you remove it, you can see where the gasket hasn't been sealing around a coolant port. Worth a look rather than replace the engine.

[JA no Y]

I'll check the intake gasket. But never had a problem before the freeze plug came out. And, how much damage did the water in the oil pan cause? Would the bearings be toast? And how easy would it be to get all the water out?

[old_master]

Never had a problem... that you were aware of possibly

If you drain the oil pan, you'll get most of it. After it's running, the PCV system will remove what's left. The only way to tell if any damage was done to the bearings or journals is after a fresh oil change and filter, check oil pressure, if it's within specs and there are no knocks, it's ok. Still gotta fix the coolant leak though.

[JA no Y]

Well, It's not the lower intake gasket. I pulled the lower intake off and there was no sign of water anywhere. So basically my heads are warped/cracked, head gasket is BADLY blown, or I have a cracked block. I'll pull the engine and look for rust spots in the cylinder walls to see if it's cracked there.

[JA no Y]

Ok...I decided to just replace the engine. I came across a wrecked 95 Blazer with a running rebuilt engine for $300!! (extra spare parts for me) Now I'm having a problem getting to the middle bolt, on the drivers side, that bolts the tranny to the engine. I know I can remove the tranny's crossmember and lower the tranny to get to the bolt, (done it on my 88 many times to get to the top bolts) but from what I'm seeing, There still won't be enough room to get a socket on the bolt. Just not enough room between the body and the tranny to get a socket on it. Do I need to do a body lift, or once I lower the tranny to the ground, will there be enought room to get to the bolt?